


Tribunal And Friends Go To College

by shadowwalk



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Humor, M/M, Multi, Other, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-09-27 10:45:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10014116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowwalk/pseuds/shadowwalk
Summary: Nerevar's just trying to coast out his last year of college, but with a friend group as strange as his, nothing ever quite goes as planned.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First of all: Sorry for inaccuracies - I did not go to college.
> 
> I started writing this last year, but have decided to pick it up again and hopefully, actually finish it.
> 
> This is a modern au where magic doesn't exist, so while some characters have non-human traits (ie Voryn's red eyes), they're otherwise normal humans. Voryn takes the appearance of a Dunmer bc headcanons, but all other characters who were once Chimer in-universe still appear that way, like Sotha Sil and Almalexia. Dagoth Ur does not exist in this fic ofc, but I decided to tag him anyway since some people use that tag for Voryn as well. Also, Vivec is nonbinary and uses "they" pronouns in this.
> 
> Warning for alcohol and drug use. Includes a decent amount of swearing.

How long had Nerevar been staring at that computer screen?

He knew not to procrastinate. "I won't put it off this time," he'd told himself, and what had he done? Well, let's just say the paper was due tomorrow and he still had a thousand words to go. Not to mention the proofreading...

He was the last person left in the library, sitting in a single lone cubicle near the windows at the back. He was too afraid to check the clock, but he'd long since been sitting there with his knees pulled up to his chest, staring at words that didn't seem like words anymore, occasionally drifting off, head against the wall...

"Nerevar?"

The blonde bolted awake from his semi-conscious state. The library lights had long since been turned off, leaving Nerevar with nothing the laptop's screen for light, and he struggled to find the source of the voice. He squinted into the darkness, and the voice spoke again.

"Nerevar? It's me."

Indeed, he recognised who the voice belonged to just before his eyes focused on the silhouette of his best friend.

"Voryn." Nerevar yawned, lazily covering his gaping mouth with a hand. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Voryn retorted, now right beside his friend. His dark hands were crossed casually, silky black hair falling to his chest. His clothes were often way too formal for the situation, but Nerevar could only make out a simple t-shirt and plain-looking trousers.

"Trying to finish writing this paper for tomorrow," the he sighed, putting his feet back on the floor and rubbing his eyes. "Why do I always have to answer first?" Voryn made a face.

"You don't /have/ to do anything," Voryn shrugged. "I wanted to ask you a question and you weren't in your dorm or answering my texts, so I came looking for you."

Nerevar glanced down, idly touching his phone in his back pocket. "Shit, I muted my phone so I wouldn't be distracted. Sorry." He looked back up at his friend. "What did you need?"

"Dumac has his boyfriend over for the night," he sighed. "They came clambering in from a party not long ago and woke me up. I was wondering if I could stay the night in your dorm." This, of course, was against dorm rules, as was Dumac inviting his boyfriend over, but their hall attendant was not very good at reinforcing the rules - and after four years at the college, one learned what they could get away with.

Nerevar's pale eyes drifted down to the time on the bottom-right of his laptop's screen. 2:21 AM. He sighed. "Of course." He stood up, quickly saved the document with the tapping of a couple of keys, and shut the machine. "I'll just finish this in the morning or something." Voryn raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "I'll make it happen, alright?" Nerevar said with a bit of a smile. "I always do."

"Sure." Voryn replied, voice tinged with sarcasm. Even with Neravar standing right before him, Voryn had to look down to meet the blonde's eye. It's not that Nerevar was particularly short, but Voryn was quite tall. Nerevar gave him a friendly punch on the arm before sliding his laptop into its bag and heading toward the library's exit, Voryn following close behind.

***

The pair walked the moonlit halls in silence, not wanting to attract unwanted attention. They'd been such good friends for so long though that, to Nerevar, it didn't feel awkward to quietly walk in one another's presence. Nerevar couldn't think of another person he felt that comfortable around – he was thankful to have such a relationship.

Near the hall's exit, however, they heard the low hum of machinery grow nearer.

"What... Is that?" Nerevar whispered. Voryn's red eyes darted around in the dark, though they could not find the source. "Wait, what are we close to?"

The two continued walking in silence until they came up to the small fitness area's glass-windowed door. The noise was definitely coming from in there. They silently peered through the window into the dark room, and was met with a small silhouette with shaggy hair running rather erratically on one of the treadmills. They exchanged glances before deciding to move on. After they'd walked a few more steps in silence, Voryn finally spoke.

"That was Vivec, wasn't it?"

"I think so," Nerevar whispered back, exhasperated. "Do you think they're drunk?"

"No clue." Voryn shrugged. "Either way wouldn't surprise me."

Vivec was a freshman that the pair had met a few weeks prior, as the year had just begun. Vivec was... Eccentric at best, and strung out on any number of substances at worst. Nerevar had decided to befriend them as he was a bit worried for them, but turns out their behaviour was unpredictable even when they were sober. He was still getting to know them, but they definitely didn't seem to be a bad person, just... Odd, and perhaps not dealing with the sudden college environment in the best way.

“Do you think I should go back and stop them? They could get hurt.” Nerevar asked quietly, glancing back as they rounded a corner.

“I don't think so,” Voryn replied, walking a few paces in front of his friend. “They get up to all kinds of things when you aren't around to babysit, and they're always fine.”

“I don't babysit.” Nerevar mumbled, but didn't bother to argue. There was truth in Voryn's words, but he still worried for his young friend.

He decided to push it out of his mind as he stepped out into the night. The October air greeted his skin with a bite – he hadn't taken a coat to the library with him earlier in the day as it wasn't cold when he'd left his dorm, but now a t-shirt didn't suffice to keep him warm. He crossed his arms and quickened his pace toward the living quarters.

“Are you okay?” Voryn asked, taking longer strides to match Nerevar's speed. He cursed his friends' long legs; he wasn't so blessed.

“It's cold!” Nerevar exclaimed. Voryn just chuckled, obviously not bothered by the weather. Nerevar cursed him again in his head.

***

“You're lucky to have gotten your own room this year,” Voryn commented as the two entered the dark room. He stood motionless by the door as Nerevar stumbled through the room, searching for a bedside lamp to turn on. “I envy you. Dumac's alright, but he's a terrible roommate.”

“Don't envy me.” Nerevar laughed as the room finally burst into light. Voryn blinked as he looked around at the unfamiliar, chaotic space. “Sorry about the mess.” he replied, actually feeling a bit embarrassed. This was the first time Voryn had been in this particular room, and all the years prior, Nerevar's roommate had kept their room looking presentable. Voryn smiled.

“Leave it up to you to destroy a dorm in less than two months,” he teased as he kicked his shoes off and walked into the room, taking care not to step on anything. Nerevar pouted as he put his laptop bag on the floor, hoping to look convincing, but by Voryn's laugh, it wasn't. “I'm just kidding.”

Nerervar crossed his arms as he plopped down on his bed. “If you keep being mean, I'll force you to go back to Dumac and Kagrenac.” He could practically see Voryn shudder at the thought and smirked.

“So, where are my blankets?” Voryn asked, looking around the room some more. “I'm eager to get back to sleep, and you'd better be too if you want to finish that paper.”

Nerevar blinked. “What do you mean?”

“So you can get up early and finish i-”

“I meant, what do you mean, blankets?”

Voryn's face was genuinely confused. “Am I not sleeping on the floor?”

“Don't be so formal,” Nerevar laughed after a moment, waving a hand, “My bed's big enough for two people.”

“Oh.” Voryn said stupidly, red eyes quickly darting from Nerevar's face to the bed. Nerevar could swear he saw the ghost of a blush on Voryn's dark skin, tinting his cheeks and the ears peaking out past his hair.

“Uh, you don't have to if you don't want,” Nerevar said suddenly. “I just thought you'd find that more comfortable, but if you don't want to share, it's okay-”

“No, it's fine,” Voryn interrupted, suddenly looking composed once more – but there was a distance in his eyes. Had he imagined the red on Voryn's face, the stiffness to his posture? Voryn sat down beside him on the bed, and now Nerevar was the confused one. “I was just surprised. Which side of the bed do you want me to sleep on?”

Nerevar studied his sharp features for a moment, but he found his serious expression unreadable. “I… Don't mind?” he managed.

“I'll take the wall then,” Voryn decided, crawling up to the side of the bed he'd claimed. “You'll be up before me, after all.”

“Uh, yeah,” Nerevar replied, staring down at his jeans. “… I need to get changed first.” he said, standing suddenly.

“Alright,” Voryn replied simply, and when Nerevar looked back at him, he was already facing the wall. Nerevar stared at the back of his head for a moment, eyebrows furrowed, then proceeded to swap out his outfit from the day for something to sleep in. Once he was done, he flicked off the bedside lamp and quietly slid under the sheets.

Why had Voryn reacted that way? He was usually such a calm person, and he was straightforward – if he really didn't want to share a bed with Nerevar, he would have just said so. But was he really not that comfortable around him? The pair had been good friends since freshman year, and they were now seniors. Nerevar considered Voryn his best friend, and he was sure Voryn felt the same for him. He thought to ask him if it really was okay, but he worried he'd already made it awkward enough, so he decided to let it be. And besides, he was tired. Perhaps he'd just imagined it – he had been sitting in front of a computer at the library for hours.

“'Night.” Nerevar said to his friend, trying to sound casual, though he still felt awkward. He hoped Voryn didn't feel the same way.

“Goodnight.” he could just barely hear Voryn reply, already succumbing to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally wrote a new chapter. Hooray for awkward conversations!

…

“Aw, shit!”

Voryn was awake instantly, but blinded by the morning light teeming through the curtains. As he tried blinking through the light and sleep in his eyes, he could feel the bed shaking and the sound of rapid shuffling. “What are you…?” he began to ask as he sat up, greeted with the sight of Nerevar's back, a t-shirt being yanked over his blonde head. Voryn immediately averted his eyes, choosing to look down at the bedsheets instead, considering how dull and uninteresting they looked in comparison to his friend.

“I overslept! Fuck!” Nerevar continued to shout as he stumbled over the clutter on the floor, grabbing a few things as he made his way to the door.

“Don't forget your bag.” Voryn reminded him, pointing to the laptop bag Nerevar had carried the night before.

“Shit, thank you!” Nerevar practically shouted, adding it to the mountain of stuff in his tan arms. “See you later!” The door shut and swallowed up the remainder of his image, leaving Voryn alone in silence.

He flopped back down onto the bed.

He doesn't know how long he sat there in silence, staring at the white ceiling. When exactly did he start feeling this way about Nerevar? He covered his face with a pillow as he traced his thoughts further and further back – all the times he wanted to confort Nerevar with a hug, to press their lips together and taste his infectious smile, to simply feel the touch of his skin as they slept beside each other at night – oh, God, what embarrassing thoughts; how could a single person turn him into such a love-struck idiot? And yet, his friend's scent on the sheets around him only seemed to pull him deeper into his thoughts.

Friend. What a horrible word. A word that had pulled at his heartstrings for so long.

He thought back to when Nerevar and his then-girlfriend, Almalexia, had broken up the previous year, and how Voryn practically felt like jumping for joy when it finally happened. It was a horrible thing to think, after his best friend had spent so long talking to him about how he wished to do it but didn't know how. But in retrospect, it was a mutual breakup (“if such a thing can exist,” said Sotha, as if he had any knowledge of romance) and the two seemed to still genuinely be friends… But Nerevar hadn't been interested in anyone since then. If anyone, why would it be him?

He contemplated, for a moment, who he'd even talk to about such a thing. Surely not Dumac – he was too good of friends with Nerevar, and he didn't trust Dumac not to tell him. Kagrenac would tell Dumac. Almalexia was obviously out. He liked Vivec, but they'd only just met and they seemed to be a bit of a chatterbox. That left Sotha…

Actually, that wasn't too bad of an idea. Out of everyone, Voryn felt that Sotha was the most trustworthy. Sotha was a year beneath him, and “nerd” wasn't strong enough of a word to describe him, but he was extremely smart, and wasn't much one for gossip. He and Voryn were probably the quietest two in their circle of friends, which was certainly a trait to be admired in situations like this.

Voryn finally pulled the pillow off his head, the morning light stinging his eyes once more. He looked at the clock. 10:16 AM. He wasn't sure when he'd gotten to sleep, petrified to turn over and check the clock in the middle of the night, but this was a late start for him regardless. It was Saturday, so he didn't have any classes, but…

He pulled himself out of bed, straightening out his clothes and hair a little before deciding to leave the room. As he made his way down a familiar path, he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“Are you busy?” he typed. “Meet me in the library.”

***

“Oh, hey Voryn.”

The individual Voryn happened upon in the library was about as plain as they come. Brown hair, glasses, far paler skin than he – he sat at a reasonably sized table in the middle of the library, which wasn't particularly busy today. Without missing a beat, Voryn pulled out a chair and sat across the table from him. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Just studying.” Sotha gestured toward the piles of books stacked before him on the table. “But Vivec's meeting me here soon. They need help also studying.” He glanced at his wristwatch with his small yellow eyes.

“Vivec studies?” This procured a small smile from Sotha.

“Don't be rude, Voryn. If anyone goes to this school, they must either be incredibly smart or very driven. Usually, both.”

'Incredibly smart' and 'very driven' were not phrases Voryn wold specifically use to describe Vivec, but that was beside the point.

“Well, anyway, what did you need?” Sotha ushered.

“Sorry, this won't take long.” He stared down at his dark hands. “You know I don't normally call on you for… Help. But I think you'd be the best person to talk to about this.”

“Oh? What subject?” Sotha scooted the pile of books a little closer to him, hands ready to pick through them. “I suppose not creative writing? I have all these here for Vive-”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Voryn interrupted, laughing, feeling a bit flustered. God, was this really the right thing to do? Maybe he should make up something real quick, some trivial question about, what, some legal loophole he'd read while studying?

“I see. Well, I can dig up any book on any subject you need.”

Voryn stared at him for a moment. He almost wished he could see his own face and the absolutely dumbfounded look that must have permeated it. He laughed something desperate, hiding half his face in a hand.

“It's… Not about anything academic, Sotha. I'm here as a friend asking for advice.”

“Oh.” Sotha stared at him for a moment, clearly surprised. They'd known each other for two or three years, and nothing like this had ever come up. “Um, what can I help you with, then?”

Voryn let the hand concealing his face slide down to his chin, instead propping his head on it as he looked off into some far corner of the library. Absentmindedly, he stared at the screen of some computer a woman was using. It was too far away for him to make out anything except for a lot of text and a white background. She was typing…

“It's about Nerevar,” he said after a moment, not daring to actually look at Sotha. “Do you… Do you think he's interested in anyone? Romantically, I mean.”

Sotha seemed to mull this over for a moment. “Well, if he were to talk to anyone about this, I'd think it'd be you.” Voryn's eyes snapped over to Sotha's face.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you're his closest friend. Everyone knows that. I doubt he'd tell everyone else something that he wouldn't tell you.”

Voryn's gaze hovered over to the woman's computer monitor once more. His voice was nonchalant, but he felt as if his heart would jump out of his throat at any moment.

“Like how I can't talk to him about how I feel?”

There was a long, horrible silence. One that seemed to stretch on for miles. How many more words had that woman typed into that word document by the time it ended?

“Oh.” Sotha blinked. “Are you saying...”

Voryn looked over at him, feeling absolutely pathetic. “Yes, I'm saying exactly what you think. I came to you because I have no one else who I'd trust to keep it to himself.”

“I see.” Sotha closed the notebook he'd been writing in before Voryn arrived, looking thoughtful. “Well, what exactly can I help with?”

Voryn sighed. “I don't know, it's so hard to talk about. It's hard for me to even think about.” He was sitting up straight again, playing absentmindedly with his long, black hair. “I wish I could tell him, but I just… I don't want to make things weird. I know he only thinks of us as friends.”

“How do you know?” Sotha asked.

“Because… Of the way he acts. He acts like everything is so… Normal. So casual. He never stammers, or stutters, or…” Voryn interrupted himself. “He doesn't do any of the things that I do.”

Sotha pondered this. “Maybe he acts like everything is normal because you act like everything is normal.” But before he could finish his thought, someone appeared in his peripheral vision.

“Hey guys!” The short yet skinny freshman appeared from seemingly nowhere, their toothy grin making up most of their face. They wore an off-the-shoulder crop top and a pastel backpack hoisted on their shoulders, and their fair hair was, as usual, a mess. “You ready to get down to business, Sotha?” Voryn and Sotha exchanged looks.

“Yes, I don't want to intrude,” Voryn said, standing from his chair only for Vivec to take his place. “Thanks for helping me out, Sotha. I'll see you later. Good luck, Vivec.”

“Thank you!” Vivec beamed. Voryn could only wonder if they were okay, after what he and Nerevar had seen in the gym the night before. They must have been, though, from the way they were acting.

“Um, yes, I'll text you later.” Sotha replied, clearly feeling awkward about the conversation cut short. Voryn didn't feel great about it either, but there wasn't anything to do at this point about it.

***

Only after walking out of the library did Voryn realise just how hungry he was. Absentmindedly, he began the trek to the communal kitchen as he mulled over Sotha's words. _Maybe he acts like everything is normal because you act like everything is normal._ Surely, though, Nerevar had noticed his many blunders recently? Was he really that oblivious? Or did he just think it normal of Voryn now to act that way? Were they not as noticeable as Voryn had thought?

Absentmindedly, he wondered how Nerevar was doing. Was he finishing his paper for one class while in another class? Surely, he'd hear about it soon. Even still, he hoped Nerevar was okay.

He would talk to Sotha about this again later. For now, all he could do was eat breakfast.


End file.
